While much of our everyday trash is collected in one place such as a kitchen, bathroom or garage, there are occasions where it must be gathered and collected over a large physical area. An example of this is when picking up leaves, twigs and other yard waste. Another is when workers must pick up trash and litter from parks or along the sides of roads and highways or at other public venues after large events. Such situations call for the worker to carry a trash receptacle with them as they walk. Many carry a trash can with a liner, but such a combination quickly becomes heavy and bulky. Others carry just the liner, but it becomes difficult to keep the bag open when placing refuse inside.
It is also common for the collector or worker to use long tongs or a sharp stick as a collection aid to pick up refuse. This means that the user must touch the refuse when removing it from the collection aid to place it inside the trash receptacle. This extra step not only takes time, but exposes the worker to extra hazards.
Various garbage and trash bag holders, supports, and frames are known in the art. These devices include various designs and are typically used to hold the mouth of the bag open and support the bag in an upright and fillable position, similar to as if the bag was disposed within a trash can.
Examples of these devices can be seen by reference to various U.S. patents, including: U.S. Pat. No. 5,020,751, issued to Larkin; U.S. Pat. No. 5,183,339, issued to Williams; U.S. Pat. No. 5,400,989, issued to Gaskill; U.S. Pat. No. 6,416,023, issued to Satsky; and U.S. Pat. No. 6,679,462, issued to Valdez.
While these devices may achieve their purported objectives each suffers from one (1) or more disadvantage or deficiency related to design or utilization. Particularly, none of these devices provide for both self supported and carried modes of utilization. Additionally, none of these devices provide protection for the trash bag when being filled with a refuse picking tool. n these and other respects the devices provided are examples of conventional concepts designed primarily for the purpose of holding a bag open.